


Origins

by Daniel_Terres



Series: Arcana of the Travelers [1]
Category: Arcana of the Travelers
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Multiverse, Original Fiction, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26973085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniel_Terres/pseuds/Daniel_Terres
Summary: Magic is a wondrous form of energy. Some people believe in it, some don't. For the Otsuki, it didn't matter either way. However, when the family is suddenly thrust into a world filled to the brim with magic, how do they react? And what about the changes magic has on a person? One thing is certain though. No one will be leaving this world the same as they once were.
Series: Arcana of the Travelers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968418





	1. The Clouds of Tokyo City

**Author's Note:**

> An original fiction based on magic, mythology, science, and history. Many types of dialects, nationalities, and cultures are present in this work, if not shown at first.

Chapter 1

“Didn’t the news say it was supposed to be clear skies today?” Sora Otsuki glances upward at the crystal blue skies where dark, ominous clouds were gathering.

The Japanese high schooler’s friend Michael looks over, his eyes squinting in the afternoon light. “Not sure. Though it does seem strange that clouds would gather like that out of nowhere.”

Sora squints his emerald-green eyes at the clouds, wondering why they were forming. It wasn’t natural, the way they simply seemed to be spreading outwards from the city’s horizon. It was almost as if they formed right above the city of Tokyo itself.

“Well, either way, I gotta go man.” Sora glances at Michael and notices him smiling sheepishly. Sora smiles in return and flashes him a thumbs up. Michael’s smile brightens and he turns and runs off, waving to Sora as he leaves. Sora waves back for a bit, watching as his friend disappeared into the vast crowds of Tokyo city.

Soon, nothing was left but the constant buzz of electronic billboards and the murmurs of people talking. Sora looks around, seeing how crowded it was on the streets, then glances back at the clouds. His eyes widen slightly when he notices that they had shrunken in the short time he’s looked away. Sora looks around once more, and he notices that no one seemed to have noticed this strange phenomenon.

A breeze pushes through the street Sora is standing on, and Sora raises an arm to protect his eyes from the dust in the air. Once the breeze settles once more, Sora looks at the strange group of clouds and finds it even smaller than before. Eyes narrowing in confusion and curiosity, Sora determined that he would find out what was going on with this strange set of clouds.

That decision would forever change his life.

Sora instantly sets out across the streets of Tokyo, weaving between the crowds of people with fluid ease. His eyes were set directly on the mass of gray clouds, and yet he never bumped into a single person. It was as if he had a sixth sense for the position of people around him.

The dark storm clouds shrank once more right as Sora manages to get to an observation bridge. Climbing up the stairs of the bridge, he manages to finally get a clear sight as to where the clouds were originating from.

Off in the distance, nearly covered by the mist that clouds the horizon, was a tall spire-like building. Set with wide, crisscrossing beams at the bottom, the building eventually thinned and then ballooned into a large observation deck near the top. On top of that was a tall, pointed spire, most likely an antenna. The building towered over all the others around it, easily the tallest in the area, and directly above it, near the tip, was the circling center of the mass of black clouds.

Sora’s eyes narrow in recognition at the building off in the distance. Then, he feels a buzzing within his pocket. Sora glances down and reaches in his pocket, pulling out his smartphone. There was a notification on it from Daichi Otsuki, his older brother. 

“Where are you? It’s almost time for dinner.” Sora grins at the message. Daichi always worried about him and his siblings. It is heartwarming, but Sora still teased him for it.

Sora quickly types in a response in order to alleviate his brother’s worries. “Checking something out at the Skytree. I’ll be home soon.” Satisfied with his response, Sora puts his phone away and quickly goes down to the street level. The young man looks around for a bit, then spots what he was searching for. The entryway to the subway system. 

The Skytree, the tallest building in Japan, was set in Taito city, while Sora lived within Arakawa city. He’d have to take the subway to get to the Skytree quickly. Sora glances at the clouds and sees them even smaller than before, barely seen over the skyscrapers towering around him. Knowing that his time was running short, Sora quickens his pace, moving into the subway station.

The underbelly of Tokyo was a winding, crowded maze of railroads and shops. Luckily, Sora has lived in Tokyo almost his whole life and was quite adept at moving around the various stations and crowds. As such, it took him little more than a minute to find the Tobu Skytree Line, a special railroad built to get directly to the Skytree from various areas in Tokyo city. Sora swipes his railroad card on the entry gate and waits for the train to arrive.

Waiting only for five minutes, the subway train came right on time. People began boarding in crowds, and Sora noticed that there was an abundance of tourists in the subway. Most likely they were going to see the Skytree, although Sora wasn’t going for sightseeing. He needed to figure out what was going on with those dark clouds.

The trip to Taito city was roughly an hour-long, much to Sora’s chagrin. The minute the train stopped in Taito city and opened its doors, Sora was already gone and moving up to the surface. He didn’t want to wait for even another second.

Once again within the bustling and crowded streets, Sora found the Skytree to be only a few blocks away. Then, he notices the clouds, and his eyes widen in surprise. The clouds were extremely concentrated now, all swirling atop the Skytree’s spire. Plus, it almost seemed like they were reaching for the tower itself…

Sora instantly begins running down the street, his feet pounding against the cement. His breathing became more labored as he ran, quickly closing in on the Skytree’s base. Sora takes a deep breath, glancing up at the clouds. What he sees makes him slide to a halt.

The clouds were spiraling downwards, converging upon the tip of the building. Right in front of Sora’s eyes, the clouds begin climbing down the building, like an insect going down a branch. Even the clouds up in the atmosphere joined the ones going down until they all were climbing down the building, not a speck of black in the sky.

Sora watches with eyes wide in wonder as the clouds keep condensing as they go, getting smaller and smaller. Then, they latch onto a nearby building, and fall into an alley, out of Sora’s sight. Sora instantly begins running to the alley, his burning curiosity wanting to solve this phenomenon he just witnessed.

As Sora nears the alley, he can hear the loud sound of wind swirling nearby, growing quieter with every passing second. Sora increases his speed, a feeling burning in the back of his mind that if he didn’t get there soon, he’d miss the chance to see those clouds closely.

Sora slides to stop right at the entrance of the alley, right as the winds rushing dies down to nearly imperceptible levels. Sora glances around the alley, searching desperately for the black clouds that defied every law of physics Sora knew. His heart sinks as he sees and hears nothing.

Then, footsteps. Sora’s gaze instantly swings to the darkness of the alley’s depths as he hears footsteps getting closer. Sora backs up, not sure whether this person was a good one or not. Then, the person steps out into the light.

Alarm bells instantly go off in Sora’s head as he takes in the mystery person’s appearance. He was wearing a black t-shirt with some sort of three-way spiral on the front, sea-green stripes going above and below the design. On top of that was a black hoodie, the hood pulled up over the man’s hair. He was also wearing a set of worn jeans and black boots, both showing signs of long use and travel. Then, over his mouth and nose was a mask, a black one with a sea-green triangle where the mouth would be, the base connecting with his chin and the point over his nose. On the mask where his cheeks would be were three blue markings, almost like whisker marks. Finally, covering his eyes completely was a set of electronic shades, the pattern over his eyes showing anime-styled, half-lidded cartoon eyes.

Sora instantly knew this man was dangerous. No one who kept his appearance that covered up wasn’t. It’s simply the rules of the city. Sora goes to turn around and leave when he feels something brush his side. Sora’s eyes widen as he sees the man leaving the alley, having bumped into him on his way out. The man disappears into the crowd, instantly lost in the sea of people.

Sora looks out of the alley with wide eyes, his hands shaking. That man was still in the alley, and yet, in the short instance Sora looked away, he was passing by Sora’s side. There were at least twenty feet between Sora and the man. How could he have moved so fast?!

Sora raises his shaking hands and looks down at them. He gulps, clenching them into fists, and looks out across the crowd once more. Deciding that he’s seen enough strangeness for one day, he steps back on to the bustling streets, eager to go home.

Night was beginning to fall by the time Sora had reached his home. Set within a large apartment complex, it wasn’t much, and yet Sora treasured it more than anything else. It was where his family was after all.

Sora enters the large building, going straight to the back area. Due to the size of his family, they needed a lot of rooms, as such they owned practically the whole bottom floor. With the landowner’s permission, they connected three multi-room apartments to make one big apartment, commonly dubbed the Otsuki den to the other residents.

Sora twists the knob of the door and enters the entry room, and he instantly hears a loud blaring of music from another room, cheers from a second, and a sweet aroma in the air. Sora takes a deep breath of the delicious smell and closes the door behind him.

Quickly locking the door, he turns and views the area in front of him. Set directly in front of the entry was the living room where his sister Ame was reading a book. She smiles at him and waves, and Sora waves back. Ame was the science geek in his family, always reading books about different machines and building all sorts of gadgets. She normally wore a red t-shirt with short shorts, and always seemed to be lounging around in the living room with that book of hers. Her long, spiky brown hair fell behind the couch.

“Sora! Is that you?” A loud, deep voice bellows out from the area to the right. Sora puts down his backpack and replies “Yeah! It’s me!”

Sora hears a shuffling, and then another person walks into his line of sight. With his large build and stern eyes, you’d think he was some sort of business boss. This is Daichi Otsuki, Sora’s eldest brother. Daichi frowns at his younger sibling and says, “Where were you? It’s almost 7.”

Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, Sora confesses “I saw something interesting going on by the Skytree. If you want, I can tell you all at supper.”

Daichi’s eyes shift, searching across Sora’s expression for any deceit. Seeing none, Daichi sighs in acceptance. “Fine. Just try not to be gone for so long, ok?”

Seeing Sora nod, Daichi turns and goes back into the kitchen, mumbling to himself about what he needs to set up for everyone. In the meantime, Sora goes over to the living room and sits down on the couch next to the one Ame was sitting on. Sora leans forwards and says “Whatcha reading?”

Ame glances up at him, then back to the book. “It’s a book about different applications of wormholes. They say that if used right, wormholes can create bridges between different areas of space, maybe even other dimensions.” Sora nods in understanding, having heard of wormholes before. Ame then looks at him with a smile and says “They even make some sort of mist when they form. It’s pretty cool.”

Sora’s eyes widen imperceptibly at that last statement. A mist forming by the formation of wormholes? It couldn’t be, but what other explanation was there? Were those dark clouds a wormhole forming?

Sora sits back and crosses his arms, a frown adorning his face as he thinks on this theory. Sora was striving to be a meteorologist, and as such, he knew for a fact that the sudden formation of those dark clouds wasn’t natural, and neither was their behavior. However, if a wormhole was the reasoning, who knows what kind of messed up laws applied to something like that? The behavior of those clouds could be normal for all he knows.

Suddenly, Daichi’s voice bellows out across the rooms of their apartment. “DINNER TIME!” Sora grins and instantly gets up, quickly moving to the dining room. He enters the room and sees Daichi setting down plates, a spread of food across the table. 

Sora grins and goes over to his seat and looking at the various foods. There were sweet buns, ramen, salad, and even ham. It was a delicious meal, and Sora is grateful for Daichi’s amazing cooking skills.

Ame sits down next to Sora, while Daichi sits at the head of the table. Then, two more voices are heard. Sora glances over to the entrance to the room while Daichi sighs in exasperation. As they watch, two more teenage boys enter the room. 

The first had short, light brown hair, some spiking and some curling, and a big grin on his face. His dark green eyes shift across the food in excitement, and he exclaims “Yes! Ramen! I love your ramen Daichi!” Sora chuckles at Izumi’s enthusiasm.

Daichi waves him off, and Sora takes note of his final sibling, Akio. Akio practically drools at the sight of all this food, making everyone laugh quietly. Akio had larger spiky brown hair, practically exploding all over the place. His body was much more fit compared to his siblings, simply because he was the one who loved sports.

Once Akio sits down, all five of the siblings fold their hands and mutter “Itadakimasu.” With their thanks finished, they all begin eating with a vigorous passion.

As Sora went to take a bite of his ham, he hears Daichi ask, “Sora, what was this strange thing you were looking for?” Sora glances up at Daichi and sees him smiling. Sora swallows his food and looks at his other siblings, noticing their curious expressions.

Sora grins and says, “Oh boy, do I have a story for you.” Sora puts down his chopsticks and everyone begins listening with rapt attention. If Sora put his chopsticks down to speak, then he has something important to say. 

Sora’s green eyes travel across his siblings’ forms. Then, he says, “As I was leaving school, my friend Michael noticed some dark clouds building by the horizon. I thought it was strange, so I went to check it out. However, as time went on, the cloud began shrinking. When I got up to an observation post, that’s when I realized. These clouds were coming from the Skytree.”

His siblings looked at him with a look of disbelief, but Sora continues with his story. “So, I set out to the Skytree. It took a while, which is why I was back so late, but I did eventually get to the Skytree. Once there though, I realized that the clouds were… climbing down the building, and getting smaller. Eventually, they just disappeared into an alley. I went over there to search for them, but they were gone.”

Daichi frowns and questions, “And you’re sure this wasn’t some imagined thing?” Sora nods, picking up his chopsticks. Then, Sora remembers the man from before.

Sora glances at Daichi and mentions, “There was one more thing though. There was this man in the alley. He was completely covered, almost no distinguishable features beyond the clothes he was wearing. He seemed like danger, so I went to leave when the strangest thing happened. He was roughly twenty feet away when I turned, but in that instance, he was suddenly moving past me. I don’t understand what happened. It was like he just… teleported or something.”

Ame just waves him off and says, “Probably a trick of the light. That kinda thing can happen if you aren’t looking close enough.” Sora nods, wanting to believe in his sister.

So why did he not?

Sora frowns, turning back to his food, trying to enjoy the delicious salty meat in his mouth and the friendly banter of his siblings. However, his mind kept wandering back to those strange clouds. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed supernatural to him. It wasn’t a trick of the light. It was something else entirely.

Sora shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the radical ideas. There’s no way something like that was real. It just couldn’t work in their world. Clouds don’t work like that.

Instead of dwelling on the supernatural, Sora observes his family. A small smile works its way onto his face as he watches Akio try in futility to take back a piece of food Izumi stole from him. The shorter, more athletic sibling was falling simply because of his height.

Izumi laughs loudly as he struggles to keep back Akio. A smirk replaces the grin. “Come on Akio! I know you’re stronger than that!” Izumi waves the piece of meat in the air tauntingly. Akio just growls louder and lunges.

Izumi brings his foot up and presses back on his younger sibling. “Whoa! Nearly made me fall there!” Izumi grins and brings the ham in front of Akio. However, instead of ham, his hand holds nothing but air.

The older sibling looks around in a confusion, his gaze darting everywhere to find the meat. Soft laughter resonates from around Izumi as he continues his search. Even Akio is leaning back and smirking.

Eventually, Izumi turns and looks back at Ame, who is sitting right next to him. She smirks at her brother, a piece of ham in her mouth. Then, she swallows it with a satisfying slurp.

Izumi’s jaw opens wide in surprise and the table roars with laughter. Izumi looks around, then back to Ame’s grinning expression. He tries to frown, his mouth twitching. Laughter is contagious though, and soon Izumi is laughing alongside his siblings.

“Alright, alright. Let’s settle down.” Daichi wipes a tear from his eye as he tries to reign in his siblings. The laughter dims, then settles completely.

Daichi stands up, hands clasped together in front of himself. “Alright guys,” he intones. “You know what time it is.”

All forms of joy melt away, revealing solemn seriousness, almost like a second skin. Every sibling stands up, each one of them grabbing a piece of food. A small helping of ramen, a slice of ham, two dinner rolls, and a chunk of salad. Plates in hand, the siblings follow the eldest to a room off the side of the dining area.

Inside, dimly lit by the burning candles, is a shrine. Various items of sports, music, and even books are placed carefully around a center picture. A man and a woman, arm in arm, beaming in delight to the camera. The man is Japanese, the woman American.

Daichi places his plate on an empty space in front of the picture. His siblings follow suit, then kneel. Daichi makes a cross on his body, alongside his siblings, then looks up to the crucifix above the picture and prays.

“My Lord. Please keep our mother and father safe. We hope that this food is helping them in some small way, and we hope to see them again when our times come.”

A course of ‘Amen’ and the short prayer is over. The siblings all trickle out, each one of them solemn for their own reasons. However, Sora stays. Sora walks closer to the altar, his hand brushing against the cloth on top.

Sora brushes against the picture. A sad smile forms on his face. “Hey mom, dad. Sorry the ceremony is so short. We can’t spend too much time, not with so much to be done after dinner.”

The candlelight glows dimly, the shadows on Sora’s face darkening. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw today. A dark cloud appeared in the sky, out of nowhere! It was crazy. And then, at the Skytree, I saw it disappear. Instead, I found a man covered completely. Eyes, mouth, everything! It was weird.”

Sora shivers, remembering the way that strange man seemed to move farther than one step should take him. “He was… unnatural. He had this aura, this feeling of ‘not right’ about him. And when he moved, just for a split second, it felt like he was teleporting.”

A shake of his head and Sora smiles again. “But I doubt you want to hear about some random guy I met. I’ll see you two around. And please, stay safe.” With that final statement, Sora leaves the room. Darkness consumes the area, and nothing remains.

Lights burst into being from a pair of shades as a man steps out of the darkness. He looks down at the altar, then up to the door. “Interesting. He remembered. Well then. I think I found my target.” 

The man melts away into the shadows, the light of his shades disappearing in the gloom. Darkness forms and silence falls once more.


	2. Otherworldly Stalker

Chapter 2

The next day is, thankfully, a Saturday. Sora looks out across the busy streets of Arakawa city and begins walking towards his favorite hang out spot. His family always joins him later on, and he is excited about this little city exploration they are going to do. No matter how long you live in the city, something always remains unexplored. 

Akio slides to a stop next to him, a yellow t-shirt with ‘Sport Maniac’ written in bright red text. His gym shorts are simple black and gray, and sneakers with bright reds, blues, and yellows adorned his feet. Strapped across his back is a small backpack.

The youngest sibling breathes out loudly in relief, drops of sweat flying from his brow with a swipe of his hand. Sora smirks, teasing, “I’m surprised! Normally you’d be breathing hard still.”

Akio glares, but no malice is held within the gaze. “What? Jealous that I’m finally faster than Mr. Blur?”

Sora laughs loudly. “Oh, come on! You know for a fact no one’s faster than that guy. He’s the fastest man alive!”

The spiky-haired siblings just shrugs him off. “Whatever. I’m still getting faster! Just watch me, I’ll be the fastest alive someday!”

Sora gives his brother a wide grin. “Of course you will. You’re Akio the ‘Sport Maniac’! You can do anything!” Akio gives Sora a prideful smirk, happy to hear such support.

The sounds of their chatter begin to blend in with the roaring crowd of the city. Despite the noise, the two siblings could hear each other just fine. With ears high-tuned to picking out specific sounds, like a familiar voice, they could easily discern what the other is saying. A man a short ways behind them notices this. “Interesting. He’ll definitely be a good catch.” The man disappears into the crowd, sunglasses flashing in the light.

The two siblings eventually reach their starting point, Arakawa National Park. A vast, open area of greenery within a bustling forest of metal, filled with different landmarks. Such landmarks consist of a lake, observation gardens, and even tennis courts. 

Akio grins widely and says, “Let’s go play tennis while we wait! I want to see how well I can do against you.”

This makes Sora smirk. “Oh really now? I have to warn you, I am quite sugureta.” Akio smirks at the challenge.

“Oh, you’re so excellent, huh? Well, show me then!” The siblings laugh and begin running toward the tennis court, almost like little children.

Once they arrive, Akio puts down his backpack and brings out two tennis rackets and a tennis ball. Akio tosses a racket to Sora, who catches it with little difficulty. Then, Akio throws the ball into the air and serves.

The two begin moving into a rhythm of hit and return. Neither brother let up even the slightest, knowing full well that the other would feel insulted if they did. Akio hits the ball down, then glances past Sora.

A figure stands in the shadows of the trees, his eyes seeming to flash different colors. A hood is over his head, giving Akio no way of telling who he is. 

“Yes! First point to me!” Akio blinks, then focuses on the game again. He turns around and sees the tennis ball laying a bit away from the wall. Obviously, Sora returned the ball while Akio was distracted.

Akio walks over to the ball and picks it up. He stands, but simply stares at the ball, his thoughts in a whirlwind of activity. Sora, noticing the strange behavior, walks over to Akio. “Hey, what’s up? You seem distracted.”

The younger sibling looks back at the trees. Nobody is there, not anymore. A shiver goes down Akio’s spine, a feeling of foreboding falling upon him. “That man in your story, the one you told yesterday? What did he look like?”

Sora tilts his head slightly in confusion. “Um, why?” Akio gives him a look with a small bit of pleading. Concerned, Sora states the man’s features again. “He had a black hoodie on, the front unzipped and showing a shirt with some weird spiral design. The hood was up, covering his features. He also had a face mask on, along with some shades that showed different symbols on them. They’re probably electronic.”

This makes Akio’s heart sink. “That man, he’s watching us. I saw him under the trees behind you.” As Sora turns, Akio quickly adds, “He isn’t there anymore! I just saw him as we were playing. The way he was staring at us… kimiwarui.”

Sora glances behind them again, seeing nothing, but not doubting his sibling. The man really was creepy when he first encountered him, so it’s no doubt that if Akio saw him, he’d be freaked out.

The two siblings look around, wondering if the man is still around. Then, a voice calls out from inside the park. “Hey, you two! What are you looking for?”

Akio and Sora turn toward the voice and see their other siblings approaching. Ame doesn’t have much on her, but Izumi has a guitar case and Daichi has his drawing book.

Sora brings a hand up in greeting, Akio doing the same. Once their siblings get close enough that they don’t need to yell, Akio says, “I saw the man from Sora’s story. I’m wondering if he’s stalking us…”

While this causes concern in Izumi and Ame, Daichi simply frowns. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away.” The siblings all turn to Daichi with a bit of surprise, but not much. Daichi has always been the protector of the family, standing up against any sort of danger that may come from strangers. 

Now, with all of them gathered, Izumi tries to lighten the mood. “Alright! What should we do today? Have Daichi sketch a scene? Ame show us some more gadgets? What about a song or a game of tennis?”

This makes Sora get an idea. “Oh! What about viewing the clouds? We’re always so hyperactive, why don’t we just lay down and watch the sky this time?”

The siblings all look between each other in thought, then nod at the same time. Ame is the one that speaks up. “It has been busy at school lately. It would be nice to just lay back and relax.”

With their goal in mind, the siblings all move to a hill and lay down. At first, nothing but soft chatter could be heard as the siblings pointed out different clouds and their shapes. Sora eventually moves onto a whole lecture about how clouds form and their behavior, along with the strange clouds he saw the day before.

Ame, having just a little too much energy today, decides to stand. “Alright,” she groans as she stretches. “I need a little walk. I’ll be back in just a bit.” Daichi gives her a quick nod in confirmation, and the single sister walks away from the group. 

As Ame walks through the park, she watches the scenery around herself. A pond lay just to her left, people watching the birds and fish swim around. A large, open area is to her right where picnics are being held. In front of her, about 100 feet away, is a small forested area.

The single sister glances at the forest, then pauses. A man is standing there, his face covered by glances and a mask. A hood covers his head, blocking any sort of defining features. Not only that, but Ame feels like the man is staring right at her.

Ame shivers as a strange chill trails down her back. She promptly turns around and walks away. “Nope. Not dealing with that.”

Her family comes quickly back to view, all of them doing the same thing. Daichi, hearing approaching footsteps, looks up. “Ame,” he questions. “I thought you were going for a walk?”

Ame shrugs in indifference. “I mean, I was, but I decided not to.”

The eldest brother stares at her for a bit. Then, he frowns. “Ame. I can tell you are lying. What happened?”

A grimace forms on Ame’s face. She was hoping to avoid having to say anything. She doesn’t like being seen as weak. “There… there was a man, a man on the edge of the forest. His face was covered by a mask and sunglasses, and his head was covered in a hood. It felt like he was looking right at me.”

This peaks Sora’s and Akio’s interest. The younger brother Akio turns to his sister with slight fear. “A man completely covered up, looking at you?” Ame nods. “What is going on? It’s like he’s stalking us!”

Daichi stands and says, “Alright, let’s calm down. We don’t know for sure what’s going on, but just in case, we may want to call in early tonight.” The siblings groan slightly but ultimately agree.  
Izumi grabs his guitar case and mutters, “What if we see him again? I don’t like the sound of this guy. He seems like trouble.”

The eldest gives Izumi a calming smile. “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll be able to take him if he tries anything. We’re the Otsuki! Nothing can stop us!”

A grin forms on Izumi’s face, but it is strained. “O-Oh, good! Because isn’t that him right there?” Izumi points to the forest line, farther away than where Ame was previously, but still visible. What they see makes everyone but Daichi pale.

The man is there, staring at them all, not moving. Daichi growls and yells, “Hey! Got something you want to say?!” The man doesn’t even twitch. The siblings glance between each other, turn back, and gasp quietly.

Ame is the one to voice their thoughts. “H-He’s… gone?! How? He was right there!”

Sora frowns in thought, pondering the situation. “He isn’t normal. No matter what we believe, this guy isn’t normal. No one dresses like he does unless they have something to hide, and I bet the way he moves so quickly and abnormally is the reason why.”

This makes Ame’s mind begin turning. “He has something paranormal or magical about him. I don’t like to believe in superstitions, but we can’t rule out that something out of our realm of understanding is happening. He just isn’t normal, suddenly disappearing in a moment’s notice, and we can’t explain that with modern science. My best bet is that he has somehow obtained some sort of magic or extremely advanced gadgets. Given the sunglasses, I want to bet on the later, but we can’t ever be sure unless we figure out how he moves so quickly.”

The Otsuki, while not liking the potential of magic somehow existing, can’t refute the statement either. This man just isn’t normal. Daichi slides his hand down his face, obviously frustrated. “Well, magic or not, he is stalking us. It’s quite obvious at this point that he wants something from one or all of us. So, let’s go home, eat, and get some rest. I’ll keep watch tonight.”

Plan set in mind, the five siblings turn away from the forest and begin making their way home. While it seems odd to those outside the family that Daichi is going to ‘keep watch’, it isn’t that strange to the family.

These are the thoughts running through Sora’s mind. His family is renowned for being odd and creative, often even getting praised and ridiculed at the same time for outlandish behavior but extraordinary ideas. 

A grin forms on Sora’s face as he looks at his siblings. Each one of them is talented in some way. Sports, art, music, and engineering. Sora himself is talented in science, also being the most clever of his siblings, but each one of them has their own strengths and weaknesses.

The streets before them open up, revealing the busy foot traffic of Tokyo City. The group of five moves through the area with ease, years of living in Tokyo allowing them to navigate the maze of people with little difficulty.

Sora hears Izumi yell and call out to a friend. The friend waves back, stepping alongside us. The two begin chatting animatedly, the topic of anime, music, and games passing between them.

Sora looks around once more, just taking in the sights of a city he can’t ever get over. So much activity, so much excitement. Perfect for a family like his!

Someone brushes against his shoulder and Sora turns and bows. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching.” Sora stands up straight and nearly has a heart attack. The same man as before, the one who keeps following him, walks away slowly. The man doesn’t acknowledge his presence, but the slight turning of his head is enough to tell Sora that the man noticed him.

Heart pounding, Sora quickly grabs Daichi’s sleeve and pulls on it. “Daichi! Daichi!” 

The elder sibling turns around, sees the direction Sora is pointing, and growls. The man is walking away slowly but is still visible. “Keep walking guys, he’s here again.”

All of his siblings turn and see the man walking away. They quickly speed up, but Izumi’s friend is confused. “Who? Who’s here again?”

“A stalker,” Izumi says. “He’s been following all of us since this morning.” Izumi turns and points at the man. “There he is. It’s hard to miss him with that hood and those glasses.”

The friend turns but frowns in confusion. “I don’t see anyone with a hood. Are you sure you’re ok?”

Izumi turns and sees the man clear as day. “What? But he’s right there!”

All of the Otsuki turn around and nod, all confirming his presence. The friend steps back, almost as if scared. “You guys are weird. No one’s there!”

This causes immense confusion as the friend runs off, either disturbed or needing something done. Izumi turns to his siblings. “How?! How can he not see him? He was right there!”

Ame shakes her head. “I have no idea. But I think this confirms it. Something supernatural is going on here.” Her siblings nod in agreement.

“I suggest we keep moving,” Daichi suggests. “We need to get home as soon as possible. No more stops.” 

Thankfully, the group is able to get home without any issues. Daichi closes the door and locks it, breathing a sigh of relief that they all are at home. He turns to his family and says, “Alright, let’s eat something. Then, let’s get some rest. I’ll call the police in the morning if this continues.”

Everyone nods, not willing to argue with this man on the loose out there. They all enter the kitchen, Daichi quickly whipping up something simple and easy to digest. The meal is silent, each person too unnerved by the events of today to really speak.

Izumi is the first one finished. He gives his thanks, stands up, and leaves the table. Everything is silent as Izumi moves out to the living room. Then, he screams.

Daichi practically jumps out of his chair and runs into the living room, everyone else following suit. Sora slides to a stop in the room and gasps. Standing right in the middle of the room, a cloud of swirling black mist behind him, is the man from before.

The man cracks his neck and breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh man, I hate traveling with Acumen’s portals. Such a strain on the neck.”

Sora stares with wide eyes at the cloud of black. “T-Those clouds, they’re the same ones from yesterday.”

The man’s eyes snap over to Sora. “Oh,” he mutters. “Well, that confirms it. You all are my targets.”

Daichi growls and steps forward. “We are no one’s targets! We haven’t done anything to any of the Yakuza!”

The man tilts his head, sunglasses forming the picture of confused eyes. “Yakuza? What? Oh, right! You think I’m with a gang.” The man laughs loudly. “Well, you can say that, but certainly no gang you’ve all heard of! And yes, you haven’t done anything. You’re just unlucky to be the ones with potential, that’s all!”

Lights flash on the sunglasses as the man steps forward, hands clasped in front of his chest. “Alright, let’s not have any fights and just get this over wi-”

The statement is cut off as Daichi delivers a hard haymaker to the man’s cheek. The man stumbles back, rubbing his cheek. He begins chuckling. “Oh! Oh wow! Nice punch you got there!”

A flick of the wrist is all Sora sees before five projectiles are thrown. Each projectile hits someone in his family, including himself. Sora looks down and sees a small disk, obviously some sort of machine, then grunts as a sharp pain courses through his chest.

The man stands up straight. “I was hoping to do this the easy way, but I guess I’ll have those little guys do the job for me.”

Daichi tries to pull the machine off but grimaces in pain as he feels his skin stretch. “What is this? What are you doing?!”

The man chuckles. “Why, kidnapping you of course! You all are prime targets!”

The Otsuki feel surprised, but few show it, most of them busy trying to remove the machines from their chest. Izumi gasps as he feels something come out of the machine.

“AH! Black clouds!” Sora turns and sees the same black mist as the one behind the man leaking from the machine on Izumi’s chest. Izumi frantically begins pulling his chest, trying to get the machine off.

More mist leaks from the other machines. Daichi begins swiping at the mist, trying to dispel it while Ame tries using a tool to remove the machine. Akio grips the machine and pulls but isn’t strong enough to get it free.

Izumi screams and Sora glances over. His body is nearly covered and Izumi stares at his hands with wide eyes. Sora looks at his hands and has the same reaction. Izumi’s hands are transparent, nearly invisible.

Then, without any warning, the mist swallows up Izumi completely and then dissipates. “IZUMI!” Sora looks at his machine and sees it begin to leak the same mist. Sora grits his teeth and tries to find a good hold on the machine.

More screams echo and the man chuckles as the mist consumes more of his siblings. Ame and Akio disappear right before Sora’s eyes. Daichi growls and tries swinging a punch at the man. The man doesn’t even flinch as the mist consumes Daichi and passes over the man harmlessly.

Sora looks at the nearly empty room in a panic. He stares at the machine, feeling the sickeningly cold feeling of the mist pouring out of the machine. In one last, desperate attempt, Sora grabs the machine and pulls as hard as he can.

Pain lances through his chest as his skin cracks, giving some leeway. Sora grits his teeth, tears of pain in his eyes, as he feels the machine nearly come free.  
“Ah, no.” Sora suddenly feels himself pushes down, his grip falling from the machine. The man kneels over him, his covered face uncomfortably close to Sora’s own.

“I can’t have you escaping, now can I?” He lifts up a finger and hovers it above Sora’s forehead. Sora stares with wide, fear-filled eyes as the man mutters, “This should do it.”

The man presses his finger against Sora’s head gently. Sora chokes out and coughs up blood as an excruciating pain courses through his body. What just happened?! It felt like he just got gut-punched by a wrestler!

The man stands up, leaving Sora there, gaging in pain and trying to discern what just happened. The man waves a bit as he says, “Bye!” The mist covers Sora’s eyes and he knows no more.


	3. Jungle of Mystery

A shrill shriek echoes through the air, closely followed by four more screams. High in the sky, a black cloud forms, then slowly shrinks in size. Then, out from the suffocating darkness came five teenagers. They all scream in panic as they get the sudden realization of what they were doing. They are falling.

Sora looks around in an attempt to figure out what was happening and why he is falling from the sky. He looks down and the panicked fog in his mind recedes just a little. His eyebrows furrow in confusion as he takes note of just where he was. Lush, green canopies extended as far as the eye could see if he looked left. Then, to his right, far off in the distance, seems to be some sort of plains. Before Sora could properly process this strange development, he hits the threes.

Spikes of pain rocket across his body as Sora is battered from all sides by branches. Sora hisses in pain and curls up slightly, trying desperately to protect himself from any more damage to his body. Then, he slams into the ground with a loud THUD. All the air in Sora’s body rushes out in an instant, leaving him gasping for air.

Groans resound around Sora as he lays there, simply breathing in the sweet oxygen. He turns his head to the left and notices his sister Ame picking herself up from the ground. Her body is covered in shallow cuts and a dark bruise is on her side, from what he could see. Her clothes didn’t fare much better and are torn in random places, somehow accenting the cuts on her body.

Sora grunts and tries to pick himself up from the dirty ground. He flinches as a sharp ache comes from his back, but he still pushes onwards. He’s able to get his feet on the ground again and Sora manages to make himself stand up. He breathes heavily, the pain making it harder to breathe, and simply tries to keep himself from falling. Once satisfied that he isn’t going to fall down again, Sora lets his arms drop.

Green eyes roam around the area, searching for his family. He notices Daichi standing up, while Akio and Izumi are still trying to regain their breath. Sora lets out a small, relieved sigh at the fact his family was still all together. Then, he starts taking in the area around him.

Trees. All he can see are tall, wide trees all around him. Wild, bright green vegetation grew all across the area, barely leaving any uncovered ground. Wildflowers bloom across the trunks of the trees, and there is the distant sound of monkeys chattering. That’s when Sora’s eyes widen in realization as to where they were. This is a jungle.

Sora hears a sharp gasp near him and he turns around. He sees Ame looking around, her eyes wide in shock. “Is this… a jungle?”

That’s when Daichi looks around as well. The frown present on his face deepens as he takes in this information. “It looks like it is.”

Ame keeps looking around, taking in everything she could. Worries were building in the back of her mind, fears of what could be lying beyond this small patch of brown they found themselves on. “But how?! How could we possibly be in a jungle?”

Izumi manages to get back on his feet, and he helps up Akio in the process. “I have no idea.” Izumi looks around as Akio manages to keep himself from swaying. “It’s a big jungle though. And are those monkeys I hear?”

Akio nods, having managed to regain his balance and look around himself. “I can definitely hear monkeys.” The family stands still and listens closely, trying to hear the different sounds around them. The distant chattering of primates is the most distinctive out of them all.

Sora brings his hand through his spiky, brown hair, letting it fall back in place. He is stressed and this whole situation is getting stranger. “But more importantly, how, exactly, did we get here?”

The five siblings look between each other, the same question buzzing around in their heads. Sora himself has the feeling that he should know how, he just couldn’t quite place what it was he knew.

A triumphant gasp is heard to his left and he looks to Ame. He raises an eyebrow, knowing that she had figured it out. “What did you find Ame?”

Ame grins widely and almost yells, “Those button-gadgets that guy hit us with! That’s what made us come here!”

Daichi closes his eyes and thinks about this. A sharp pain courses through his chest and he flinches in response. It takes him a bit to realize it was just his imagination though. Shaking his head to rid himself of the phantom pain, he nods slowly in agreement. “It makes sense. There was nothing else that could’ve done it.”

Izumi then speaks up and says, “Plus, the masked guy did say that he ‘teleported’ or something like that.”

Sora looks up when he hears that sentence. It sounded absurd, completely insane, but what other reason was there? People don’t just pop up out of nowhere in your living room, and people most definitely go from their house to falling out of the sky. “Do you think we teleported somewhere?”

Ame nods, her face settled into an expression of deep thought. “More than likely. It sounds crazy, but I can’t think of anything else that could’ve done that.”

Daichi glances to the side as the chattering from before seems to grow louder. “We can think of how we got here later. For now, we need to find somewhere safe. The monkeys are getting closer.”

The family all stops and listens, and they notice that the chattering is getting louder. Sora nods, then says, “Right, let's go.” His siblings nod, and they begin moving away from the area they all fell into.

The shrubbery and flowers that covered the area made moving difficult. Daichi took the lead and used his larger size and strength to help move the plants out of the way, letting his siblings get past. However, more than once Sora saw him flinch in pain as he moved his right side.

Luckily, it seemed that the jungle was lacking in moving inhabitants. Beyond the distant chattering that was slowly approaching, there were no animals in sight. However, that did nothing to alleviate Sora’s worries. In his opinion, no animals meant something worse. Jungles are always filled with animals, so if there weren’t any, then where were they? Did something happen to them? Was there something worse than the potentially dangerous monkeys chattering away in the background?

“Hey, Sora, you alright?” Sora jumps slightly and turns his gaze to Izumi. His brother was looking at him with an expression of concern, worry etched into his eyes. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sora chuckles, the fear never really leaving his face, even with laughter present. “I-Is it that obvious?” When Izumi nods, Sora sighs in defeat. “It’s just… there are no animals anywhere. What could’ve happened to them?”

Izumi nods in understanding, his eyes darting around their surroundings. It was easy to decipher that he was searching for any potential dangers. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I can’t help but worry about this all, especially this jungle. It looks like the rain forests in the photographs, but something feels… off about it.”

Sora nods in agreement, then hisses as a sharp spike of pain lances through his head. He grips his head and shakes it slightly, trying to dispel the sudden pain. He looks at Izumi again and notices him looking at Sora in concern. Sora just puts on a brave smile and says, “I’m fine. Just a bit of a headache.”

Izumi’s gaze lingers on Sora’s face, longer than Sora found comfortable, and then Izumi looks away again. Sora sighs, then flinches as another surge of sudden throbbing enters his mind. He grimaces as the dull pain seems to slowly increase in intensity. Sora clenches his hands tightly as the headache becomes a persistent throbbing, never too intense, but never dying down. Giving his head one last, slow shake to try and ignore the pain, Sora looks up and focuses on his surroundings.

Daichi pushes away another giant leaf and reveals a small clearing, the plants surrounding the patch of light green like a living wall. Daichi ushers them all into the area, his eyes darting around with a frown stuck on his face. Once each sibling enters the clearing, Daichi lowers the leaf and settles down next to Ame. 

The family stays silent as they listen around them. The chattering primates were closer than ever, but it still didn’t sound like they were close enough to be spotted. Sora’s eyes dart across the canopy high above before landing on Daichi. The older brother meets his gaze and nods his head upwards. Sora glances up and notices a large number of giant leaves nearby. He nods to Daichi and stands up, moving over to the leaves. He grabs a few, one at a time, his eyes never staying still for more than a moment.

Sora picks another leaf, looks at the stack he has in hand, and nods. He turns around and hands them to Daichi and Akio, who were waiting. The two of them grab the leaves and move around their little hiding spot, covering their heads with leaves. With this, they’d be able to stay hidden if seen by those monkeys.

Daichi and Akio sit down while Izumi and Ame watch their surroundings with fear. Sora looks between his siblings with slight concern. His gaze wanders to Daichi, and he goes to move on when he notices something. His eyes widen in shock at what he sees. 

All of Daichi’s wounds were faded, nothing more than pale skin. No red, no blood, no bruises. Sora quickly looks to his other siblings and notices the same thing with them. He glances down at his own body and sees his own scrapes and scratches gone as well. His eyes widen, mouth agape in complete shock and bewilderment. He opens his mouth more to say something when silence falls.

Sora stops forming the word as the jungle goes silent. No monkeys chattering, no birds, nothing but the soft rustling of leaves in the wind. His eyes go wide, this time in fear, and his siblings are no different. They all look out of the cracks in their leafy hideout, warily watching the foliage in front of them.

Then, the leaves begin moving. There was no warning, no stomping of a large creature, not even a roar or growl. The leaves just suddenly start moving. Sora jumps back as Akio and Izumi shut their mouths. Ame opens her mouth, but Daichi covers it with his hand, his gaze firmly planted on the small amount of jungle they could see from their cover.

Five pairs of wide, fear-filled eyes stare with rapt attention at the bush as the leaves shake violently. No noise but the foliage reached their ears, and as such, they were fully aware of the next sound to be made.

A low, unearthly growl resonates through the air. It was soft and quiet, but in the dead silence of the forest, it might as well have been a horn blast. And it was right in front of them, near the shaking leaves.

Then, out from the leaves comes a lion. Or, what appeared to be a lion. What came next was the body of a large mountain goat, it’s powerful muscles bulging beneath the shaggy fur. Finally came the body of a long Diamondback, it’s fangs glistening with poison. Sora knew exactly what this was. A Chimera.

“Chikusho! A Chimera?!” Sora grimaces at Izumi’s curse but otherwise doesn’t say a word. Daichi slaps his hand over Izumi’s mouth, muffling his brother’s words. Izumi gives Daichi a dirty look but relents anyways.

The Chimera pauses, its head held high. It was sniffing the air, searching for a scent. Sora backs up, causing his siblings to do the same. They had little room under the leaves, but it was enough.

The Chimera slowly continues its search, sniffing the air slowly. Then, it pauses once more. A low, throaty growl comes from the beast’s mouth as it turns to the pile of leaves the Otsuki are hiding under.

Sora backs up slightly again, his eyes filled with terror and fear. The Chimera was stalking closer, deliberately taking its time, slowly moving. It’s growl echoed in Sora’s ears, it’s eyes burning like red-hot coals. 

Then the chattering begins once more. The Chimera’s head snaps upwards as it gazes at the canopy above. It searches, listening for the sound’s location. It shakes its head, unable to find the source. The chattering came from all around.

To Sora’s mind, the monkeys seemed to be taunting the Chimera. The Chimera growls louder, challenging the monkeys to fight it. It wasn’t ready for the monkeys to accept.

A green, sizzling liquid is suddenly launched from the tree. More follow it, all around the canopy. The glob lands on the Chimera and it roars with agony. Sora can smell the scent of burnt flesh and fur. That green liquid is a poison or some sort of acid. And it was coming from all over.

The monkeys continue pelting the Chimera with poisonous globs as Sora backs up rapidly, pushing his siblings the other way. His siblings, after seeing how the Chimera reacted, didn’t hesitate. They back up and stand, and soon, the Otsuki are running.

The chattering of the monkeys grows louder, as if sensing that potential prey has escaped. Sora glances back and sees the Chimera running through the trees, more than likely unable to handle the burning liquid that covered its flesh. However, as the chattering grew louder, Sora knew that they weren’t in the clear just yet.

Globs of poison begin raining down on their retreating group. Sora stumbles as one glob lands in front of him, causing him to sidestep to avoid it. His siblings all have other various sounds of surprise or curses, allowing Sora to know he isn’t the only one in this situation.

The poison-throwing monkeys seemed to be gaining on them, judging from the more and more poison landing around them instead of behind them. Sora clenches his teeth, trying to run faster. However, he simply wasn’t in shape for this kind of work. His body was losing steam, and soon, he would be nothing but liquid meat.

“Allahu Akbar!” The foreign words register in Sora’s ears moments before a shape lands in front of him. He gets the image of a tan, eastern woman in his mind before she is gone, jumping high into the canopy. 

The monkeys all emit a startled yelp or chatter as the woman bounds across the branches high above. The chattering begins to die down as the woman moves around. Soon, the chattering begins to move away. The monkeys were retreating.

Then, the woman lands right in front of us, giving the Otsuki a clear view of her appearance. She has tanned skin with long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her face was hard and stern, obviously the result of hard work. Her arms and legs were fit and muscled, and she wore long cargo pants and a loose t-shirt. Overtop of it all was a small, sleeveless jacket.

The woman looks at us with interest, humming in thought. Her gaze swivels between us and Sora can’t help but feel like she was looking deeper than their appearances. Then, she smiles and says, “English, yes? Or maybe Japanese?”

Sora blinks, but luckily Ame jumps in. “English is fine.” The woman nods, as if she knew this and was just simply confirming her suspicions.

She smiles and says, “Well, I wish I could say it’s nice to meet you, but I can’t. It’s never nice to have more people come here.” Sora looks between his siblings, all of which look at her with confusion.

The woman notices their puzzled expressions and frowns. “Well,” she says. “This isn't the safest of places to discuss matters. You all probably have many questions, but that must wait. For now, we must move.”

The Otsuki look at her with uncertainty and suspicion, but then Daichi steps forwards. He looks between his siblings and states, “We must go with her. She seems to know what is going on, and we’ll need to know as much as we can to survive.”

The woman smiles in response. “Well now,” the woman chirps. “Nice to have such an amazing leader, is it not?” The Otsuki all nod. The woman’s smile doesn’t go away as she says, “Oh, also, my name is Cipher. Now come on, let’s go.”

Sora looks at the woman’s retreating form and ponders. Cipher? What kind of name is that? However, as Sora looks back to the jungle behind him, and then the woman in front of him, he thinks that a strange name is better than what he’s seen so far. Sora begins walking forwards, his siblings by his side, and enters this new world.


End file.
